Civil rights lawyers Morris Dees and Joseph Levin Jr. founded the SPLC in 1971 to ensure that the promise of the civil rights movement became a reality for all. Since then, we’ve won numerous landmark legal victories on behalf of the exploited, the powerless and the forgotten.
Our lawsuits have toppled institutional racism and stamped out remnants of Jim Crow segregation; destroyed some of the nation’s most violent white supremacist groups; and protected the civil rights of children, women, the disabled, immigrants and migrant workers, the LGBTQ community, prisoners, and many others who faced discrimination, abuse or exploitation.
Our Intelligence Project is internationally known for tracking and exposing the activities of hate groups and other domestic extremists.
Learning for Justice is educating for liberation and democracy across the South and the nation. Through dialogue with communities, advocacy learning opportunities for adults and youth, critical conversations that center race and history, and education justice resources created to ensure public schools remain a viable support in communities, LFJ supports expanding opportunities for civic and political participation for collective impact.
Our History
A history of protecting society’s most vulnerable.
Careers
Explore our current job openings.
Financial Information
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest financial information and annual report.
Impact Report
